Oxygen Developing Nail Art Competition Show (Exclusive)

The nail art biz continues to boom in the beauty industry, and Oxygen plans to get its claws in on the action with the development of a new competition show “Nailed It!”

Produced by Matador, “Nailed It!” pits the country’s top nail artists against one another as they compete for a cash prize and title of ultimate nail artist. Contestants will compete in nail-inspired challenges that test their ability to work with extreme themes and over-the-top custom designs, using gels, wraps, polishes, glitter, lace, 3D objects and more.

Development comes as the nail care and art industry continues to grow in the consumer marketplace. Nail polish sales hit a record $768 million in 2012, marking a 32% growth since 2011. E! News has even implemented a “Mani Cam” on red carpets to showcase celeb nail art.

What’s more, young women — Oxygen’s key demo — often take to social networking sites like Instagram to show off their manicures, offering yet another way for social media to be leveraged in the promotion of the show.

“Nail art is in the cultural zeitgeist of Oxygen’s viewers as young, modern women are looking at new ways to express themselves,” said Cori Abraham, Senior Vice President, Development and International, Oxygen Media. “’Nailed It!’ will tap into this new trend for the first time to give emerging artists the chance to compete for nail supremacy, and to create a few new trends of their own.”

Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin will serve as exec producers on “Nailed It!”